Retirement Nightmare

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

With stagnant wages and increasing costs of living, Americans are forced to tap into their 401 (k)s just to make ends meet. Now, just one in five workers has a pension, and with wages not going up with productivity, retirement is looking increasingly grim for many Americans.

“New reports out today from AARP and its Public Policy Institute underscore how the tough economy has taken a toll on the middle class, including those over age 50. They say these workers have seen their incomes fall, their savings shrink, and have gone deeper in debt.”

Pensions, one of the best tools to ensure retirement security, have been disappearing over several decades. It’s hard to even think about retirement when hard-working Americans can barely afford to put food on the table, but this is still an issue Washington needs to address in a comprehensive approach to strengthening the middle class.

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The great American middle class wasn’t something that just happened – it was built brick by brick. It was built by soldiers returning from war and a government that repaid them by giving them a shot at college.

What the wealthy and well-connected figured out is that they have strength in numbers: the numbers of dollars they contribute to politicians. It’s time working and middle class Americans use our strength in numbers to reclaim the American Dream. We need a counterweight to the power of big money – and that’s the power of big numbers, the power of ordinary people who work for a living demanding to have our voices heard – from the workplace to Washington.